How to Stand for Something

Hey underclassmen seeking elected office—I’m about to drop some senior knowledge on you. You have the power right now to make our campus politics more than just a show of words and promises. In the next couple of weeks, you will have to do two things: talk honestly about the campus in a way that values each and every student and group and be the kind of leader who pursues the initiatives that actively reflect this ideal. Student councils provide you with free food at study breaks, promote school spirit at athletic events, co-sponsor your parties and talks, and, once a year, help Lerner Hall take the Apple Store’s spot as the most exciting glass box in New York City. Event planning probably has the most noticeable positive impact on campus. Because it’s so easy to let events consume all of our attention, I’ve made it a mission of mine not to let them distract me from my daily work of making our campus a more cooperative environment. I really hope you enjoyed the free Texas Rotisserie & Grill at Activities Day, but in this column we’re going to eat the meat of the politics raw.

Our major dilemma is now yours as well. Student government here is loud, but it rarely says anything meaningful. It is not right for us to take sole credit for initiatives—such as the pass/D/fail policy, Flex Off Campus, and affordable birth control—which were either started years ago, led primarily by groups, or mostly carried to fruition by our advisers. I could not agree more with critics who deride us when we tout these accomplishments.

Structural changes take time at a university. However, without a keen interest in our community’s dynamics, student government lacks a serious foundation. There are two main roadblocks to affecting change at Columbia. The first is that student leaders do not take what we learn from administrators to the campus. Regrettably, after so many meetings with various campus offices, student leaders lose our enthusiastic edge. We realize the impossibility of completing tasks—for example, our efforts this summer to transition all coursepackets to e-reserves slowed down immensely after we realized how daunting the necessary coordination of all our academic departments would be.

We need to go to group board meetings, conduct live surveys with students about their concerns, and host regular town halls. It has become apparent to me that administrators trust student leaders to provide them with the full range of student opinions, but this doesn’t happen because we don’t take the time to seek out those opinions. If we take the time to seek and build student support, our long term goals can be carried on for years instead of dying after a few meetings. For example, the coalition-building seminar at the Community Principles Initiative taught many underclassmen how to work productively with and for other groups. I hope the participants this year will lead initiatives that bring different student groups together.

The second roadblock is that we don’t hold ourselves accountable. We’ll probably fail in some ways, but if we provide our administration with a wide array of campus perspectives, we will discover a more real understanding of how the student body thinks and works. Right now, student government does not extend itself—rather, we believe you should come to us. Wrong. Popular sentiment among campus leaders is that we are the ones who “act,” while others do not care. Do not fall for this trap. I’ll hold myself accountable right now. Midway through the summer, I sent an e-mail to the entire Columbia College Student Council laying out our agenda for the upcoming year and asking everyone to be involved with the research, write-up, and follow-up of resolutions throughout the year. I laid out a mantra for our council: all initiatives have to be supported by some portion of the student body or our initiatives have to be student-driven. Council members must be prepared for their updates every week. It’s our E-board’s way of making sure your representatives are doing their jobs, too.

Aspiring student leader, do not worry about getting re-elected already. Worry about whether you will be able to say not only that you advocated for something that could make your community’s life better, but also that you informed your fellow students about Columbia’s bureaucratic processes. Our outreach should be much more than just e-mails and creative poster-making. Learn the ropes: Why do special interest communities want more lounge space? How is the Manhattanville expansion going to affect the undergraduate community and Harlem in years to come? How active are communities of faith on campus? How can the new Sakai Courseworks program help students evaluate courses and share files? How can we push for increased financial aid for international students? Why is Ethnic Studies not an established academic department? When will the Lerner Recycling Center be expanded?

As the year starts and events like tomorrow’s ServiceNation Presidential Candidates Forum attract anticipation and excitement, do not forget about the real issues affecting our community. We’re performing a service just by making the effort to be in tune with others. I think it’s the best job one could have. Like Senators Obama and McCain, student leaders are also advocates for change. We may disagree on the details along the way, but we can’t disagree that we genuinely want to make this campus a better place. Enjoy tomorrow, and I’ll see you out on the lawn.

Adil Ahmed is a Columbia College senior majoring in history.
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